


A simple life - 33 A.B.

by FanFicReader01



Series: The Unknown Below [6]
Category: Ice Road Rescue (TV), Poets of the Fall
Genre: Attack, Drama, Pirates, Post-Apocalypse, Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 17:18:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20177920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanFicReader01/pseuds/FanFicReader01
Summary: Markus Kaarlonen considers himself to be a modest man, living a simple life





	A simple life - 33 A.B.

**Author's Note:**

> Story 6

Despite being an Old One, being born before Point Zero, Markus Kaarlonen considers himself to be a modest man, living a simple life. He owns a neat piece of land where he grows his own food. A few chickens give him eggs and a healthy cow provides him with enough dairy to get by.

Sometimes he has to offer up half the harvest to the Mother Ship. It’s an easy deal that most farmers of these lands have agreed upon. Markus lives together with Sami and Petri. Young orphans who lost their parents to pirates. That was four years ago. It was a turning point for Kaarlonen. It was the event that caused him to leave his criminal past behind him for good. As soon as he brought the kids to safety, they moved into an abandoned farm. There they started their new life and soon the people of the Mother Ship provided Markus and his adopted children enough material to restore the old farm.

Ever since that moment, Markus Kaarlonen has become a humble man trying to live his best.

Today he’s at the market on the other Floating Island. A large, wooden bridge connects the two islands. He’s gone together with Sami, the youngest one. They’ve brought a whole basket full of eggs.

“Well done, Sami. You can put the basket down. I’ll handle it from here. You can look around, see if you see something nice for you and your brother to snack,” Markus says.

“Thanks, dad!”

That puts a smile on Markus’ face. It has taken the boys quite some time before they started calling him ‘dad’. Knowing his son is safe on this market, the farmer walks up to one stand to bargain for goods in exchange of his quality eggs.

“Is it just me, or is your boy getting taller?” the woman behind the table grins.

“Yeah, he sure is. Dunno if he’ll ever surpass my height, though!”

“You’re just too tall,” the woman jokes before she inspects the basket of eggs. They eventually strike up a deal for three big pieces of meat in change for ten eggs. Markus goes to another booth for wine and orange juice. Soon all eggs have been exchanged and he uses some actual coin to pay for the kids’ cake. Sami helps his dad putting all the food into the basket when suddenly a loud noise is heard. A ship is seen flying over. Markus’ heart drops when he sees the symbols painted onto the vehicle. _Pirates_. He wonders if they’re actually the same bandits who pillaged the village of his kids four years ago. Markus then feels a squeeze in his hand. It’s Sami.

“Sami, stay here close to the others. I’m going to get your brother!”

As much as Markus wished to bring the boy with him, he can’t risk it. For now, the pirates seem to have no interest in the market, which is strange, knowing how much valuables are here.

Without hesitation, the farmer runs back to the other Island to find Petri. He’s almost running in synch with the airship. As expected, the vehicle lands close to the farm. In the distance he spots a figure running toward him. He hopes it’s Petri. It is.

“Petri! Come here!” he screams with his arms spread open. His kid starts crossing the bridge.

“You’re almost there! You can do it!” Markus encourages. Then shadows behind Petri emerge. With widened eyes, he watches the event unfold. First there’s gunshots. Not much later he watches as the bridge collapses. Then Markus witnesses Petri falling down along with the crumbling bridge. Markus screams. Tears blur his vision as he runs up to the edge of the island.

“_PETRI!!!”_

Before he can process the loss, another innocent voice is heard.

“Dad?”

“Sami! Come here. We have to get out of here!” Markus turns around to see his other son. He grabs the kid and picks him up without hesitation.

“W-where’s Petri?”

“I-, I’ll explain later,” Markus has to bite down more tears as he runs back to the market where more chaos has ensued. A few pirates have somehow managed to get onto this Island as well while Markus was trying to get to the other side.

Now, evading bullets and enemies, Markus spots something in the distance. Could it be.. the Mother Ship?

A bit of hope sneaks its way into the man but that hope gets shattered when someone blocks their way. Markus puts his kid down and pushes him behind him.

“Stay behind me.”

“If it isn’t a familiar face,” the pirate says. It’s a man with wild, blond hair. He lacks one eye and his left hand is a personalized hook.

“It’s you,” Markus gasps in shock. Fuck, these bastards again.

“I never thought we’d be reunited, friend!” the blond cackles amused.

“You’re not my friend. Let us pass,” Markus snarls. He won’t let these sickos get away with killing another son of him.

“I’m afraid I won’t let you do that. There’s no fun in that.”

“You sick fuck!” Markus no longer hides his anger and curses from Sami.

Before the pirate can open his mouth to spew more nonsense, Markus storms forward. The surprise gives him the upper hand. He knocks the other guy down who is luckily a head smaller than him.

“Run, Sami! To the Mother Ship!”

“Daad!”

“Do it, Sami! Damn it, listen to me!”

“Dad,” the boy sobs before doing what his dad tells him.

Meanwhile Markus gets punched with the blunt side of the hook. Markus noticed a rake laying somewhere so he goes for that. Being a farmer for almost five years gives him enough experience using the tool. Added to that, is his criminal past. Though mainly not proud of the latter, it sure as hell comes in handy now. Using the rake as his extension, he manages to impale the pirate in his flank. The latter curses in pain while Markus too makes a run for the Mother Ship. Outside of it come a few Protectors, trying to handle the situation.

“Quick, you’re almost there!” one Protector shouts at him. The man is rather small but he looks strong nonetheless.

“Good, your s-son is already in,” the Protector nods. “We’ll handle the rest. As soon as we’re clear, the Ship will leave.”

Inside, the panicked crowd is gathered in the income hall. They get a quick check-up before allowed to be inside. Some people have been injured. Markus finds Sami. As soon as they see each other, they hug each other.

“Dad, where is my brother?”

Markus’ grip around his kid tightens. Tears flow freely again. “He’s gone. Sami, forgive me. But I-, I… could not safe him. I could not safe Petri. Before he could get to me, those thugs destroyed the bridge and-,” He can’t go on. Sami pats his dad’s back before starting to cry too.

“So Petri can’t come back?”

“No. He can’t. I’m sorry. I’m so, so, sorry.”

Once they’ve recovered from the initial shock, Markus tries to be confident again. The ship gets in motion again. The threat must be neutralized. As the new passengers of the Mother Ship go to the main area, Markus spots the Protector from before.

“Hey. L-let me introduce myself. I’m Solomon. W-welcome aboard. And s-sorry for the losses.”

“The farm?” Markus questions.

“Destroyed. Sadly we couldn’t stop the pirates. We hadn’t send enough men. I’m terribly s-sorry,” Protector Solomon replies, his head lowered in defeat. “The p-pirates got away.”

“I see. I bet they won’t attack a ship, massive as this.”

“No. It l-looks like they were just out f-for trouble. N-nothing more,” the Protector grunts. Then he looks at the farmer. “What will you do now?”

Markus gives his son a look, who’s also staring at him, searching for answers.

“We’ll try to move on. I guess we’ll stay here for now.”

“Might be the s-safest choice,” Protector Solomon says. He shows a faint smile at the young boy. “You’ll be alright. This is a g-great ship. Friendly people.”

“Thank you for your help. We wouldn’t have survived without the intervention of the Mother Ship,” Markus outs his gratitude.

“Y-you’re welcome. Protecting Humanity is our d-duty!”

Still, Markus scorns himself for not being able to protect his other son, Petri. Later today, he’ll throw a short funeral for him. It’s the least he can do in this situation. And it will help Sami find closure too, he hopes.

**Author's Note:**

> Oof, some drama :') And finally characters from different stories start to meet each other!


End file.
